Inspired By Lotusland

Ever wish you lived in a climate where it’s almost always sunny and warm? Where you don’t have to shovel snow in March? Where you can pick lemons from a tree instead of a supermarket bin? Where ginger root isn’t just something to buy at the Chinese grocery store but actually grows in the ground?

OK, all you Southern California folks know what I’m talking about. For one week, I was able to bask in your near 80 degree temperatures and bright sunshine every day. For one week, I escaped the New Jersey sleet (and luckily came back to warm sunny weather too!).

For one week, I headed to Santa Barbara with a good friend from Princeton, to visit a mutual friend from another lifetime ago.  I don’t know what I would have done without their friendship and support during those early years of motherhood and they have remained close friends to this day – nearly 34 years later.

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I’ve written about Santa Barbara before and you can find highlights of that trip and the beautiful seaside town here.

This trip however, was filled with different adventures that were just as much, if not more fun. I’ll fill you in on some of the other sights, sounds and tastes in later posts, but today is all about Lotusland, a 37-acre botanical garden in Santa Barbara.  The unusual gardens are home to extraordinary collections of various types, including rare cycads, cacti, palms and euphorbias.

Lotusland was created by a beautiful and charismatic Polish woman named Madame Ganna Walska, who collected men almost as abundantly as she collected plants. 

Lucky for visitors to Lotusland that most of her six husbands were wealthy, leaving her with abundant resources to spend on creating the series of gardens that takes you from one enchanting environment to another, including a topiary garden:

a cactus garden:

an aloe garden:

plus fern gardens, butterfly gardens, water gardens, succulent gardens, a Japanese garden and at least ten other types of gardens.

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Lotusland gave me the itch not only to get working in the garden, but in the kitchen too, inspired by the ginger root I saw growing in the ground there.

I thought I’d keep this really simple and it doesn’t get much simpler than this. After you’ve peeled and sliced the ginger root, peeled the garlic, sliced the scallions and lemons, you’re almost ready to sit down and eat – forget Rachel Ray’s 30-minute meals. This one takes five minutes. Here are the ingredients for one serving – it’s all very switchable – use more garlic or less ginger root or whatever amount of each ingredient you want, depending on your palate and how many servings you’re making.

Place a piece of fish (in this case sole that’s been salted and peppered first) on a plate. Arrange the ingredients on top of the fish. Put the plate in a steamer. If you don’t own a steamer (and I don’t) I just put a plate upside down in a large skillet, add water and let it come to a boil. Then on top of the first plate, place the plate containing the fish. Cover and let it steam at a low simmer for five minutes. Some of the water from the pan will find its way onto the plate, and that’s fine because it dilutes the soy sauce a bit. If you’ve got a little sesame oil, it would be nice to add a drizzle at the very end.

I hope you’ve cooked the rice and veggies beforehand, because after five minutes, the fish is ready to eat.

Steamed Filet of Sole

printable recipe here

for one serving:

one-half pound piece of flounder (or sole)

1 T. soy sauce

1 scallion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

a few slices of peeled and sliced ginger

salt and pepper

one or two slices of lemon

sesame oil

Place a piece of fish (in this case sole that’s been salted and peppered first) on a plate. Arrange the rest of the ingredients (except sesame oil) on top of the fish. Put the plate in a steamer. If you don’t own a steamer (and I don’t) I just put a plate upside down in a large skillet, add water and let it come to a boil. Then on top of the first plate, place the plate containing the fish. Cover and let it steam at a low simmer for five minutes. Some of the water from the pan will find its way onto the plate, and that’s fine because it dilutes the soy sauce a bit. If you’ve got a little sesame oil, it would be nice to add a drizzle at the very end.

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