foodiowa.com has been inactive of late, and I’m hoping to change that and resume with a new series of posts with menus from Wednesday nights–an evening in my house when we always cook.
So, for the first one, November 2nd, 2016, I had my host son from Japan over for dinner, and we had a Korean menu:
Venison bulgogi with quail eggs and gochujang
Chayote with black bean and pork belly
Roasted baby portabello mushrooms
Cucumber pickle (spicy)
Hot and spicy peanuts
Steamed rice
Sliced pineapples and pears
Notes:
I grew the chayotes from a friend who gave me one in October of 2015. It grew into an enormous vine, but I didn’t think there were any fruits. Yesterday I was checking again, and found about a dozen. They have a long growing season, so I’m lucky to have them. The recipe really turned out well. (And you can always find chayote in Mexican stores like La Tapatia in Des Moines or Zamora in Marshalltown.)
Chayote with black bean and pork belly*
Ingredients
1 large chayote, sliced thin, and then on a bias to make bite-size pieces
1 small shallot, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 inch ginger, finely minced
2 tablespoons grape seed oil
2 tablespoons black bean garlic sauce
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 oz. cooked pork belly, chopped (I used the Momofuku recipe)
salt, sugar, rice vinegar to taste
green onions, sliced, for garnish
Begin by sautéing shallots, garlic, ginger, and pork belly in oil, until translucent. Add black bean garlic sauce, sauté until heated through, and almost smoking. Add white wine to deglaze pan and reduce slightly, and then add the chayote, and turn to high heat. Cook until the chayote begins to cook through, and add 1/2 tsp each of salt and sugar, and a teaspoon of rice vinegar. Toss and heat through, and put in serving bowl and sprinkle with green onion.
FoodIowa 
Lovely! More pictures, please.