Lovage. A large unwieldy herb. Pick the stems off the leaves, tie them and hang them to dry for about 3 days. When crisp, crumble the leaves and store. Good in hotpots. Lovage seeds are used mainly in Indian cooking, and are from a plant of the caraway family. The greenish-brown seeds are a little larger than celery seeds and have a strong aroma of rather coarse thyme. Oregano can be substituted.
Adzuki bean. Small, red and shiny, slightly square beans with a white scar or hilum on the side. They are good in salads, mixed with other vegetables and also useful with other ingredients for stuffing because of their size. They are often used in sweet dishes as they have more natural sweetness than other beans. They are the basis of the red bean paste used in dim sum and of Japanese an, and are used a great deal in Chinese and Japanese cuisine, particularly for making sweet pastes. The flour is used in confections and puddings in China and Japan.
Monkey bread. The baobab tree produces a gourd-like fruit called monkey bread which is eaten fresh or made into a drink. The leaves are also dried and powdered.
A region south of Bonn where high quality, pale red wines are produced. Centred around the towns of Ahrweiler, Neuenahr and Walporzheim.
Strawberry Blite. A small, red, mulberry-like fruit, this grows on sprawling plants which are primarily grown as greens for salads or used as a herb, though should not be used in quantity. The leaves may also be cooked like spinach but, again, in moderation. The pleasantly sweet but essentially bland berries are small, pulpy and bright red, resembling strawberries. They provide an interesting accent to salads. The is plant prefers cool weather and damp mountain valleys but will tolerate heat. Native Americans used to use it as a dye.
Ide or orfe. A freshwater fish with lots of bones and slightly soft flesh. It is prepared in the same way as carp.
Bleak. A small, elongated, white-fleshed fish, abundant in lakes and quiet waterways. Its scales, which are thin and silvery, come away easily. The flesh of the pond bleak is of poor quality, but that of the river variety is fairly good, though full of little bones. It is about 15 cm (6 inches) long and invariably served fried.
