Lemongrass:

This is one of the most delicious and important flavorings in Thai cooking. Citral, an essential oil, gives lemongrass its lemony taste and fragrance.

When Maralyn lived in North Carolina, she grew lemongrass just outside her back door. I enjoyed browsing through her garden to pick fresh herbs for dinner and to add to her fresh flower arrangements.

Maralyn uses lemongrass in ginger and pumpkin soup, butternut squash soup, sauces and Thai meals.

One tip she taught me is to substitute the scallion like base as a skewer to impart more flavor to skewered shrimp, scallops and chicken.

A tip I taught her is to serve her pumpkin soup in a hollowed out pumpkin shell. This gives soup more flavor, eye appeal and no bowl to wash.

Brenda C. Hill
International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association
Books By Hills Success Log Global Log

Finalist in the Writing and Publishing category of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, “$uccess, Your Path to a Successful Book”

Brenda Hill
Author: Brenda Hill

As a longtime food writer for Where Magazine New York City, Brenda Hill, along with her writing partner, Maralyn Hill (no relation), writes and publishes books about chefs, food and international travel. They co-authored "Our Love Affairs with Food & Travel" and joined French Master Chef Herve Laurent in writing "Cooking Secrets: The Why and How" Brenda has been active in the California Writer's Club, IFWTWA, and the Santa Barbara's Writers Conference. Brenda Hill and her partner Maralyn Hill conduct marketing and writing seminars. Maralyn and I will be heading back to Rancho La Puerta in July to give our presentation on writing and marketing your book, as well as bringing back some freshly picked off the farm nutritious and tasty recipes.