It wasn’t until I moved to NZ that I first started making fritters. I consider fritters to be one of a New Zealand’s national foods. They make fritters out of anything–beets, corn, sweet potato….White bait fritters could be called NZ’s national dish. For a Kiwi, the fritters I am about to describe are not actually white-bait. They are silver fish, and Chinese, in fact even comparing the two is a sin.

NZ white bait are a whole other ball-game, any Kiwi will tell you that. They are much more expensive than silver-fish. During the white bait season in New Zealand, all ages can be found down on the beach pulling white-bait fresh out of the water, whisking them up with some eggs and right into the frying pan with some butter. Talk about fresh! This recipe is my version and we think it is very tasty even if you have to use silver fish instead of white bait. These days you may also want to know where your fish came from, because it isn’t recommended to eat fish from the Pacific Ocean because of the Fukushima disaster.

I recently posted about the benefits of miso soup in cases of radiation poisoning. Miso soup is easy to make and is extra beneficial when made with the Japanese stock dashi because of the kelp (kombu) that is used when making that stock. More information on how to detoxify radiation poisoning and other toxic conditions here.

Variations of dashi can be made with only kombu or with an addition of shittake mushrooms. Kombu dashi has a lot of iodine from the seaweed and is helpful if you are exposed to radiation. The addition of traditionally made hatcho miso to your dashi stock has quite powerful radiation detoxing abilities. But commercial miso has also been found to work as well.

A few years ago I was the Executive Chef for The Strand, a boutique historical hotel in Yangon Myanmar (Rangoon, Burma). I had a great time reworking the menu to use local produce and really got to know the markets of Rangoon. This was one of our favorite appetizers–it even got written up in Conde Naste along with my Passion-Glazed Pork chops! Crispy but light, these coconut encrusted prawns go perfectly with juicy honey mandarins and mixed garden greens. The Champagne Vinagrette adds the perfect complement with a light tang. Your amounts will depend on how many you are serving, but these are tasty so plan to make extra, they will go fast.

The first time I made this recipe I was working in Burma (Myanmar) at a 5 star Renaissance International hotel. One of the long-time expatriates that frequented our catering services was an older, leathery-skinned alcoholic Swedish lady. She had somehow managed to get the Swedish ambassador to Thailand to come to a dinner party at her house when he was in town.

She insisted I follow a very particular recipe when making the marinated salmon which has a relatively higher ratio of sugar than many gravad lax recipes. The Swedish usually have this salmon on their smorgasbords and always serve it with this delicious mustard dip. I have altered the recipe slightly here to use honey instead of sugar for a GAPS and SCD friendly recipe.

I was meaning to post this recipe a while ago. This is a delicious recipe which I made for the GAPS diet we are currently doing. This quiche is excellent in this Parmesan and Pumpkin Seed Crust. My Uncle caught these crabs himself off of Whidbey Island. This recipe is especially fantastic with fresh wild crab caught by someone you know!

Makes one 9″ quiche

• 1/2 crab’s meat (or use 1 tin crab)
• 1/4 roasted pumpkin diced (I had leftover roasted pumpkin, which was lucky because this is a great combination!)
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 c home-made yogurt
• 1t salt
• pinch of pepper
• 1/2 – 1 c zucchini, grated
• 2 toes of garlic, minced or mashed
• 1/2 – 1 c cheddar cheese, grated

Method:
Make a crust (I really liked the Parmesan-Pumpkin seed crust, recipe here), but feel free to make your own favorite crust. If you are using the pumpkin seed crust, let it cook for about 5-10 minutes before adding the filling.

You can get this salad at Bo Kyoke Market in Yangon, Myanmar. Crispy and delicious!

Naomi Aung gives us the details and a translation of the recipe from this website.

Pazon Khwat Gyaw Thoke is a crispy nest of bean sprouts with shrimps on top. Make the salad with noodles and a sweet & sour & hot dressing. Comes with a hot clear soup. Very good, and you’ll even be full as if you’d had dinner

Pazon (pawn/shrimp) Khwat (cup) Gyaw (fried). It is Pazon Khwat Gyaw. If it is salad, it is Pazon Khwat Gyaw Thoke. The salad usually has shredded cabbage and cucumber.

Recipe translated from http://wesheme.blogspot.com

• 1 lb (1/2 kg) of prawns/shrimps
• 1.5 lb (650-700g) bean sprouts (side note: thin bean sprouts from mung beans, not soy bean sprouts)
• 1 pk of tempura mix*
• 1 onion
• Add a pinch of salt
• Mix with water. (Naomi’s side note: Be careful about adding water. You can add more water later. Mixture should not be too thin.)
• * – if tempura mix is not available, mix 3/4c bean (chickpea) flour and 1/4c of a 3:1 mixture of rice powder and sticky rice powder. (Naomi’s side note: it is a good idea to add a bit of baking soda if you are not using premixed tempura)

Method:
Let dry the bean sprouts after cleansing. Thinly slice one red onion. You can use either cooked or raw shrimps. If raw, clean them and pat dry.

This is what I call poor man’s roast. Sardines are a great affordable way to get protein and fat if you are on a really tight budget. If the vegetables are roasted to the point of caramelization the flavor will be even better. This is actually a delicious dish even if you aren’t broke.

serves 4

• 4 medium carrots, large dice
• 2 lg onions, large dice
• 1/2 head garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and large diced
• 1/2 pumpkin peeled and large diced
• 1 head broccoli, cut into florettes
• 1 tin crushed tomatoes
• 2 tins sardines
• to taste chili
• to taste ground coriander
• to taste cinnamon
• to taste salt
• oil

Serves 4

• 1inch ginger, pounded
• 6 cloves garlic, pounded
• 1 medium onion, sliced and pounded
• 3 tomatoes, pureed
• 1T oil or more if necessary
• ½ t turmeric
• 1t chili powder (or more to taste)
• 12-16 large prawns
• salt or fish sauce to taste

Method:
Prepare the curry gravy by pounding the ginger, garlic and onions in a mortar and pestle. This can also be done in a food processor.