Lasagna with Pumpkin and Spinach

I didn't have time to make a proper bechamel sauce for the pumpkin spinach lasagna I served at my holiday Sriracha party so it was a bit dry. Everyone ate it, but my ego was affected. I knew I could do better!

A fall squash lasagna didn't quite fit with nephew's luau-themed 2nd birthday party, but I can't eat a whole pan of pasta by myself! I have to make it when there are plenty of people to finish it. Except, the pumpkin spinach lasagna was sooo good, I kind of wish I saved it all for me.

I chose to include pasta sauce in my version to lighten the heaviness of all that bechamel sauce and cheese. Otherwise, I think just pasta and squash and cheese may be a little one note? It's one thing to eat smaller portions of Pumpkin Ravioli, but another thing entirely when eating lasagna. The squash, pasta sauce, cheese, spinach, and Italian sausage all worked together to create a lasagna that was perfect for the cold winter months.

Canh Ga Chien Nuoc Mam Kieu Pok Pok (Vietnamese Pok Pok-Style Fried Fish Sauce Wings)

After trying the much-hyped Vietnamese fried fish sauce wings at Pok Pok - Portland - Oregon, I knew I could re-create a similar version at home, but tone down the amount of fish sauce used. The first few wings I ate at Pok Pok were pretty good, but then the saltiness of the fish sauce became really apparent as I kept eating. The Do Chua (Vietnamese Pickled Stuff ie. Carrots and Daikon) that were served with the wings were supposed to balance out the saltiness and spiciness, but I didn't find the wings very spicy, just very, very salty. Anyway, the good thing about making this at home is that you can adjust the fish sauce and chile peppers to your liking.

Pok Pok's wings are addictive because of the double marination, before and after frying. I marinated the wings in fish sauce, salt, sugar, and garlic. I used mostly the same ingredients, but added vinegar and chile peppers, like I would with Nuoc Mam Cham Ngot (Vietnamese Sweetened Fish Dipping Sauce) and simmered it on the stove top to thicken. The wings were only lightly battered, so I used a combination of rice and tapioca flours, and only one coating before frying. If you want to eat low-carb, you can skip the coating and just fry the wings after marination if you wish. Then the wings were tossed in the sweetened fish dipping sauce afterward.

I served up my version at Christmas dinner with my siblings, and again later with friends, and they found them pretty addicting. But then, who can resist fried chicken wings that are crispy, salty, sweet, and spicy?

Mimosa LA Nursery - Los Angeles

The day before Thanksgiving, my mom said she wanted to buy a Meyer lemon tree for the house. We have plenty of fruit trees given by my uncles, but none of them were lemons. My youngest uncle's Meyer lemon tree isn't producing as much as it had in the past and my parents wanted to plant one in the front yard. Less likelihood of anyone stealing our fruit since so many people in SoCal have lemon trees in their yards you see.

So I took my mom to Mimosa LA Nursery, where lil' sis had purchased the persimmon tree for my parents' garden the year we drove up in 2008. It's also where my uncles bought their fruit trees until they started grafting or planting seedlings from existing stock.

Mimosa Nursery is owned by a Vietnamese-American so there is a pretty large selection of tropical fruit and flower trees spread across three acres.