How To Make 'Midwestern Salad' 10x Better, According to Food Network Star Molly Yeh
It's nearly impossible not to be enchanted by Molly Yeh and her recipes. The cookbook author and star of Food Network's Girl Meets Farm peppers her food with fun flavors and a kaleidoscope of bright colors that radiate happiness.
And all of that sweetness and light is on full display in Yeh's newest cookbook, Sweet Farm!: More Than 100 Cookies, Cakes, Salads (!), and Other Delights from My Kitchen on a Sugar Beet Farm. The recipes in the book are a mix of fun treats—think church cookbook classics, playful remakes of childhood desserts and fresh creations that incorporate flavors from her Chinese and Jewish roots.
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Sweet Farm! is organized based on dessert type. There are cookies, cakes and breads, but it's the salads chapter (yes, salad can be dessert, especially in the Midwest) where Yeh's uniquely sweet food identity shines.
We chatted with Yeh recently about the new book and talked to her about her love for all things sugar, her passion for nostalgic flavors and, most notably, the wonders of fluff, the iconic Midwestern dessert salad.
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Parade: We'd love to know a little more about what inspired you to write !
Molly Yeh: My obsession with sweets has no end, and the fact that I married a literal sugar farmer meant that I couldn't not write this book. The sweets are inspired by life here—they're reflective of the local cuisine, as well as my heritage and the kinds of sweets that keep big burly farmers going in the fields. The recipes are big, rustic, whimsical and sometimes messy but it's ok because if you're eating them in a tractor, you're probably covered in some dirt already!
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You're famous for blending your Chinese-Jewish heritage with your Midwestern roots. How do the recipes in continue to highlight that?
I have absolutely no chill when it comes to expressing my love for my favorite nostalgic flavors, like black sesame, tahini, cardamom, pistachio, marzipan, rhubarb, halva and rose. So there are LOTS of recipes in the book with those ingredients. I also wanted to create new versions of classics, like babka, rugelach, cookie salad and pineapple buns that would tell the stories that make them special to me.
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Speaking of salad, it's Midwestern to dedicate an entire chapter to . Fluff, that classic combo of whipped cream (or Cool Whip) and Jell-O, is a potluck staple, but the ube fluff recipe in the book really turns that dish on its head. Can you talk about the texture and flavor of that dessert?
Ube fluff is fluffy, creamy, wiggly and a little chewy from the tapioca. The flavor of ube has always reminded me of cookies and cream for some reason! It's sweet and earthy, similar to vanilla. I love it. And what makes this truly unique is the fact that ube wasn't really available in the Midwest until very recently, so the meeting of ube with fluff is a new phenomenon. I'm proud to make this shidduch (the traditional process of finding a marital partner within the Jewish community with the assistance of a matchmaker). First, make and chill the ube gelatin until set. While the gelatin sets, make tapioca pudding using coconut milk, sugar and ube halaya jam until thick and creamy. Once both components are chilled, whip heavy cream with powdered sugar, fold in the broken-up gelatin, pudding and mini marshmallows. Finish with more marshmallows. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready.
Do you have any tips for people who are new to cooking with ube or looking for it in stores?
Ube halaya is the name for ube jam that's easy to order online. When ube is in its halaya state, it's already gone through a fairly long cooking process, which is necessary since you can't eat it raw. Ube extract is also easy to order online.
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Are there any other underrated Asian flavors or Asian ingredients you think people should use to take classic desserts up a notch?
Kinako is my current fave. It's Japanese roasted soybean powder and its flavor reminds me of peanut butter but funkier in a cool way. I like to add some to chocolate chip cookies or hot chocolate!
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