Wendy Kiang-Spray
  • Home
  • Book
  • About
  • Blog
  • events
  • Press
  • Contact
  • Community

The Chinese Kitchen Garden Blog

​Handbook for Navigating the Asian Supermarket

9/16/2017

19 Comments

 
Picture
Photo by: Sarah Culver
In the past few years of speaking to groups about Asian vegetables, without fail, at least a few people in the group mention that they go to Asian or international supermarkets and want to try different vegetables but don’t know what the vegetables are or how to use them. Labels and signage can be misleading, the workers are generally not helpful, and people are stuck with – do I take a chance or not? 
 
Even though The Chinese Kitchen Garden is a gardening book, it can also be a good resource for those of you who want to experiment, but are not sure where to begin.  If you’ve wanted a handbook of sorts to carry with you through the market, to help you identify what the vegetable is, or how to use it, this is your book.  You may see the crazy-looking taro root.  You may have even had taro-flavored foods.  But did you know taro root can be toxic and needs to be cooked first? After it's cooked, it’s right as rain and so yummy in a number of dishes – sweet and savory.  You can learn all this and more in the book!
19 Comments

The Chinese Kitchen Garden Book Discussion Questions

6/14/2017

0 Comments

 
One would not think a pretty encyclopedic book about vegetables could be read from cover to cover. However, many readers have mentioned that this is the way they have approached The Chinese Kitchen Garden.  

Not only are book groups popping up in neighborhoods and among friend groups, but garden book groups are also on the rise among garden clubs, Master Gardener groups, and in community gardens. If you read The Chinese Kitchen Garden with your group, please reach out to me.  I'm happy to answer questions from your group or do a conference call, and I'm just eager to know the thoughts of your group!  Here are some discussion questions to get you started!

  1. For the person who chose this book (or anyone else) – what made you want to read it? Did it live up to your expectations? Why or why not?
  2. What do you think motivated the author to share her story?
  3. What resonated with you?
  4. How did you respond to the author’s voice? Discuss the books structure and writing style. What are your thoughts about the format/layout of this book?
  5. The Chinese Kitchen Garden is said to have a strong family element. What is this family’s most admirable quality? What surprised or spoke to you about this family?
  6. How do you imagine the author’s family responded to the telling about some of the more difficult times in the family’s history?
  7. The author dedicates this book to her paternal grandmother, “…whose spirit inspired and runs through this book”.  What do you suppose this means?
  8. Is the author someone you would like to know in real life? Why or why not?
  9. Which element is more important to you – the growing or the preparing/cooking of the vegetables?
  10. Which vegetable(s) have you added to your planting wish list, if any, and for what reason?
  11. Were there any gardening practices that you strongly agreed or disagreed with – for example, the Chinese intensive garden beds or pest management?
  12. What surprised you about the use or preparation of the vegetables discussed in the chapters or in the boxes?
  13. Have you or do you plan to try any of the recipes?
  14. What did you like or dislike about this book that hasn’t already been discussed?
  15. Is this a book you would recommend to a friend? If so, for whom and why?

0 Comments

Announcing...The Chinese Kitchen Garden!

2/8/2017

1 Comment

 
Picture
Picture
My maternal grandmother. Learning about growing Chinese vegetables brought me closer to knowing my grandmother, who died before I was born.
​
Joy and jubilation! Today is the release of The Chinese Kitchen Garden, my family’s story and many years of work.  Words cannot express my gratitude to Timber Press and all the individuals who have taken this project on. I’m so excited to dedicate this to my grandmother, who I did not get to know, but who inspired the book.  I’m humbled to think that YOU may be reading about our story very soon!
 
Ask about The Chinese Kitchen Garden at any bookseller or buy it online at your favorite book selling site.  If you have feedback, please reach out, I’d love to hear from you!
1 Comment

The Chinese Kitchen Garden Book Launch!

1/7/2017

0 Comments

 
​I'm really thrilled to announce that The Chinese Kitchen Garden book will be presented to the world from Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington, DC on February 5th, 2017.  The event will take place starting at 1pm and will be no doubt the most satisfying talk I've done, as I'll share about the writing of the book, my motivations and inspirations, and also answer your questions.  There will be food samples to try and books to purchase as well!  Please mark your calendars.  Hope to see you there!
Politics & Prose
0 Comments

Chinese Kitchen Garden Events

12/17/2016

4 Comments

 
Hello all!  Timber Press and I have been working hard on planning some great events for 2017.  Be sure to check out the Events page to see what I’ll be up to in the new year.  If you’re anywhere nearby, I’d love to see you!
Picture
I'd especially love to meet you at Politics & Prose Bookstore where The Chinese Kitchen Garden will launch on February 5th at 1pm.
4 Comments

Go ahead and treat yourself!

12/10/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
The holidays are right around the corner and if you're like me, you're finding joy in buying or making the perfect gifts for people you love.  But here's my suggestion to you... buy my book.  I realize how self-promoting that sounds but hear me out... The Chinese Kitchen Garden will be released in February, after the holiday and New Year hustle and bustle are over. And...
  • You've always wanted to start a garden but don't know how to get started.
  • If you're an experienced gardener, you sit with your tea or coffee working your way through seed catalogs after the new year. You always wonder about all those exotic vegetables you see but are not sure how to grow them.
  • Maybe you've grown a few Asian vegetables like bok choy and want to learn about other interesting vegetables.  Or, you've grown bok choy but were frustrated because it bolted before you could harvest and you want to know how to have more success.
  • Or, you're fully confident in the growing part but don't know how to cook them!
  • You love to cook and want to add a little more excitement to your repertoire, and could use a few good authentic recipes. 
  • You like to explore your Asian or international supermarket but have no idea what all those vegetables are and we all know asking a store employee is NEVER helpful!
  • Your New Year's resolution will probably be to "eat more vegetables" or "become more healthy".
  • You love food stories, learning about other cultures and random interesting trivia.

The Chinese Kitchen Garden will give you everything you need in a beautiful package with gorgeous editorial style photographs.  I know you'll love it. And the best part is, you can pre-order now and maybe forget that you have done so. This way when it arrives in February, you'll be just delighted with your gift to yourself! Pre-order now at your favorite bookseller! 
click here to order at Amazon, or contact your favorite bookseller!
0 Comments

Timber Press Blog Interview

12/9/2016

0 Comments

 
If you're a gardener who appreciates quality reading, you likely have some Timber Press books on your coffee table.  But did you know that the Timber Press blog is also packed with inspiring tips and ideas written by experts, staff, and authors?  Check it out and subscribe to stay in the know!  You can read my interview on the blog to learn more about the genesis of The Chinese Kitchen Garden (a quite personal story), hear about what I'm growing, and see some of photographer Sarah Culver's photos. The book is full of them and her work makes this book so beautiful.  Please take a look and let me know what you think!
0 Comments

Old Cover vs. New Cover

11/5/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Some of you may be familiar with the colorful cover of The Chinese Kitchen Garden.  The beautiful main photo, by Sarah Culver, is of stem lettuce, also known as celtuce.  Stem lettuce is a really interesting vegetable - a leafy top (not so delicious) on crisp and juicy stems (very delicious) that thicken as the plant grows.
 
But anyway, turns out, the publisher felt the original cover was too dark and decided to make a lighter one.  Check out the new cover! This is what you’ll see everywhere on February 8th.  I would agree that if you imagine the two covers on a stack of books in the bookstore, the lighter cover on the right is more eye-catching from a distance.  Don’t you agree?
2 Comments

    Author

    I'm Wendy Kiang-Spray, gardener, home cook, and author of The Chinese Kitchen Garden. Learn more about the book here. Enjoy the blog and be sure to like The Chinese Kitchen Garden Facebook page for notifications when there are new posts. 

    Archives

    April 2019
    August 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016

    Categories

    All
    A Choy
    Asian Supermarket
    Asian Vegetables
    Awards
    Bamboo
    Birdhouses
    Bitter Melon
    Book Group
    Bottle Gourds
    Bunching Onions
    Chili Peppers
    Chinese Cucumbers
    Chinese Cuisine
    Chinese Eggplant
    Chinese Kitchen Garden Book
    Chinese Long Beans
    Chinese New Year
    Choy Sum
    Cilantro
    Congee
    Container Gardening
    Corn
    Daylily Buds
    Did You Know?
    Dumplings
    Edamame
    Edible Flowers
    Events
    Fall Garden
    Family Stories
    Fish
    Flowering Garlic Chives
    Food Preservation
    Gai Lan Or Chinese Broccoli
    Garlic Chives
    Gifts
    Ginger
    Giveaway
    Greenish Thumb Blog
    Guest Blog
    Health & Nutrition
    Heirloom
    Interviews
    In The Garden
    In The Kitchen
    Kabocha Pumpkin
    Kabocha Squash
    Kohlrabi
    Lotus Root
    Luffa Gourd
    Luffa Sponges
    Mala
    Malabar Spinach
    Mizuna
    Mung Beans
    Napa Cabbage
    Noodles
    Noodle Soup
    Nutrition
    Our Stories
    Oyster Sauce
    Photography
    Recipes
    Red Noodle Bean
    Rice Noodles
    Sarah Culver
    Saving Seed
    Seeds
    Sichuan Peppercorns
    Snow Peas
    Snow Pea Shoots
    Soil
    Spices
    Spicy
    Sprouts
    Steamed Buns
    Stem Lettuce
    Sweet Potato Leaves
    Taro Root
    Tatsoi
    Timber Press
    Vegetarian
    Victory Garden
    Water Chestnut
    Watercress
    Water Spinach
    Winter Melon
    XO Sauce
    Yard Long Bean
    Yellow Garlic Chives

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Book
  • About
  • Blog
  • events
  • Press
  • Contact
  • Community